Class 11, Language Development, Unit 20 Science and Technology

 

UNIT-20

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 

Taking my Son to College, Where Technology has Replaced Serendipity

Cristina Baker Kline

 

Glossary:

Serendipity        - destiny/fate/fortune/luck

Freshmen           – first year students at university

Twin sheet          – double bed sheet/covering

Clip-on light         - lights models for bed come with a thick clip

Venture out         - dared to do something risky

Social currency      - influence on social networks, online and offline communities, and the degree by which your business is shared by others

Bragged about       – said in boastful manner

Alpha Romeo        – Italian luxury and amazing car

Camaro          - mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet

Gstaad          - a holiday destination for royalty and celebrities in Swiss Alp

Vanderbilts     - one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the United States

Vanderbilt Hall      - the residence hall for Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Sophistication       –complexity

Disposal            - dumping

Basement           – underground room

Dorm            - large building at a college or university where students live

Suitemate          - A person with whom one shares a suite in a college or university residence hall

Prom               - a formal party held for older students at the end of the school year, at which there is dancing

Musing           – meditative

Xbox            – video game created and owned by Microsoft

Vetting          – inspecting

Scrutinizing        – examining

Indecipherable      – impossible to read

 

Exercises:

Ways with words:

A. Match the words with their correct definitions.

a) Freshman          – a first year student at a university, college, or high school

b) Naïve             – having a lack of experience or knowledge

c) Obliviously        – without conscious awareness

d) Brag              – say something in a boastful manner

e) Disposal            – action of throwing away something

f) Dorm               – dormitory, student residence hall or building

g) Suitemate          – someone who shares your bathroom/living room/kitchen

h) Incalculable       – not able to be calculated or estimated

 

B. Replace the bold words in (a-h) selecting synonyms from the box.

Delight, incredible, potential, unanticipated, fragmented, scrutinizing, navigate, indecipherable

a) Her story is unbelievable in the literal sense of the word. Incredible

b) We often read the novel of the reputed writers in the world. Potential

c) The Facebook users are scattered but connected to each other through the Internet. Fragmented

d) Sometimes unexpected events happen in our life. Unanticipated

e) He paused, examining the faces of Anjana and Manju with his glittering eyes. Scrutinizing

f) I am sorry to say our handwriting is unreadable. Indecipherable

g) He is matured. He can direct his own journey to make his career better. Navigate

h) Gita’s heart swelled with pleasure, translating her confidence into power. Delight

 

C. Complete the sentences by choosing the correct word given in the brackets.

a) Does television affect children? (affect(v)/effect(n))

b) Does television have an effect on children? (affect/effect)

c) Could you lend me your book, please? (borrow/lend)

d) Can I borrow your pen? ( borrow/lend)

e) Prices seem to rise every year. (raise/rise)

f) You can raise your hand if you want to ask a question. (raise/rise)

g) What did he say to you? (say/tell)

h) I can’t speak Hindi. (speak/talk)

i) I will talk to you on the phone.  (speak/talk)

j) I think that’s a very sensible idea/ (sensible/sensitive)

k) My teeth and very sensitive to cold. (sensible/sensitive)

l) Our principal is a popular person. (principal/principle)

m) I can’t understand the principle of gravity. (principal/principle)

n) All friends, except Nabina, came to the party. (accept/except)

o) Will you accept my request? (accept/except)

p) They were making too much noise. (Noise/sound)

q) All she could hear was the sound of the waves. (noise/sound)

r) Did you give him any advice for his career? (advice/advise)

s) My parents advised me to be a teacher. (advice/advise)

 

Comprehension:

Answer these questions.

 

a) Why did the author feel that she was lucky to be so naïve of her freshman year at college?

 

The author felt that she was lucky to be so naïve of her freshman year at college because the very ignorance navigated her to the path of wealth and status. The lack of knowledge and experience encouraged her to get the delight of discovering the world.

 

b) Why did she say that she went to college in the Stone Age?

 

She said that she went to college in the Stone Age, because she compares her college year with her son’s college year she found a vast difference. During her time, there was not such a great developments in terms of science and technology as they are now. Modern students are familiar with science and technology; they have different modern devices and advanced application on mobile phone.

 

c) What kinds of technological tools can Hayden use at his college life unlike at his mother’s time?

 

Hayden uses modern technologies in almost everything he does, large and small. He uses mobile phone with Yale specific apps, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

 

d) How has the internet and social sites affected the lifestyle of the youths?

 

Internet has made the youths dependent in almost everything either large or small. It has made the life of youths easier forgetting to experience struggle and hard labor. Without any efforts they can prepare project works depending on search engine hampering the expansion of the horizon of thinking and creativity. Social sites have given them opportunities to be connected to different people but they are fragmented because they know each other virtually. They don’t meet then in real.  Because of internet and social sites the youths have miss the actual delight of discovering of a real world.

 

e) What things about college life will Hayden really miss unlike his mother?

Hayden will miss the creative thinking ability and the delight of discovering a real world unlike his mother.

 

f) The writer says, “I worry that students today are more connected and more fragmented.” Isn’t this paradoxical? How?

 

The line “I worry that students today are more connected and more fragmented.” is paradoxical. The nature of a paradoxical sentence is, it is illogical in surface level but in deep level, there lies a philosophical meaning.  There is no fragmentation in connection but the above line means youths are connected to each other virtually through social sites, but in real world there are far to each other. They don’t have person to person relation so they are fragmented. There is no exposure to each other to gain life’s memorable moments.

 

Critical Thinking:

a) Do you think that advancements of technology can hinder the exposure students receive in school, and block them from gaining some of life’s memorable moments? Give reasons in support of your answer.

 

In today’s world internet is one of the most influencing advancements f technology. It has brought a revolution is the world of communication. It has become an integral part of human life. Thinking of a life without internet is even impossible to think. However it has some drawbacks. One of them is, it hinders the exposure students receive in school and deprives them of getting life’s memorable moments. I absolutely agree with this statement because firstly it stops them to learn what hardship and struggle is, secondly it impairs them to employ their creative faculty of mind in study and doing things, and thirdly it stops them to navigate the real world as well as the delight in it.

 

A life without struggle and hardship is not a complete life. Student life is the time to have an experience of struggle. Students have to work hard to pass the grade and they have to do different project works to expand the horizon of their knowledge based in real life but they complete the project works based on internet. They miss the memorable moments of preparing project papers by studying a variety of reference books. They can’t be creative, because they just copy and paste information from the internet. There is no satisfaction because their creative potential is blocked. They are connected to each other through social sites. They share their feelings and experience through texts and images. There are no memorable moments of friendship like in face to face conversation.

 

b. Kline’s essay focuses on the contrast between her son’s freshmen college experience and her own, but she also establishes what they have in common. Explain.

 

The essay entitled “Taking my son to College, Where Technology has Replaced Serendipity” written by Christina Baker Kline is about the contrast between her college experience and her son’s experience. But the essay also includes the common things between her and her son. She talks about the experience of freshman college year in the same university.

 

c. Has internet aided to broadening or narrowing the critical thinking capacity of youths or readers? How?

 

The data shows that there is 4.54 billion people use internet in the world and it is not surprising that 10.78 million people use internet in Nepal. This means a large number of people depending on internet technology blurring their thinking capacity. Most of people are fascinated to it assuming that it could make their lives easier. From everyday work to very tough area such as medical, engineering use internet. Some people argue that it is broadening creative and critical thinking ability of youths and readers. It is obvious that there are some advantages of internet but let’s see the number of people depending on internet to solve any simple problem. In my view, it is narrowing the critical thinking capacity of youths or readers. It is limiting creative skills of youths because they are totally dependent on internet for every problem. Instead of reading books and thinking creatively, as soon as they find some problem they try to find out solutions on internet.  For example when a teacher gives home assignments to his/her students, they pull out their phone or hop on their computer and try to find out solution through Google search and copy possible answers.